Centralized user interface for displaying contextually driven business content and business related functionality

ABSTRACT

A centralized User Interface (UI) comprising a supplementary UI and a desktop UI is employed to bring in enterprise constructs into the desktop application. The supplementary UI is generated and dynamically positioned based on selections on the desktop application UI. Summary information associated with data that is to be synchronized or transferred between the desktop application and an LOB application is presented in the supplementary UI along with controls that enable a user to bind additional items to be synchronized.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

The present application claims priority to U.S. Provisional ApplicationNo. 60/740,926, Attorney Docket No. 14917.354USP1, filed Nov. 30, 2005,entitled “Centralized User Interface for Displaying Contextually DrivenBusiness Content and Business Related Functionality.”

BACKGROUND

The success of an organization depends largely on the ability of itsemployees to discover, analyze, and act on Line Of Business (LOB) dataand operational information. Unfortunately, there is traditionally adeep divide between enterprise systems used to collect and manage dataand the desktop tools that information workers use to communicate andact on this information.

Applications that enable organizations to connect their desktop programsto line-of-business systems in an intuitive, cost-effective way mayincrease worker efficiency as well as employee satisfaction. Byproviding information workers with the information they need to makesound, timely business decisions, workers may become more productive andorganizations more agile.

Enabling information workers to view and act on business data fromwithin familiar desktop programs, such as electronic mail, spreadsheet,or word processing applications, may reduce workload on enterprise ITadministrators and designers as well.

It is with respect to these and other considerations that the presentinvention has been made.

SUMMARY

This summary is provided to introduce a selection of concepts in asimplified form that are further described below in the DetailedDescription. This summary is not intended to identify key features oressential features of the claimed subject matter, nor is it intended asan aid in determining the scope of the claimed subject matter.

Aspects are directed to a User Interface (UI) employed to providesummary information and controls associated with data that is beingsynchronized or transferred between two applications, such as a desktopapplication and an LOB application.

The UI is generated, positioned, and laid out based on one or moreselections on the desktop application UI. Behavior of the UI, such asappearance and position, is dynamically determined based on theposition, size, and other characteristics of the desktop application UI.

These and other features and advantages will be apparent from a readingof the following detailed description and a review of the associateddrawings. It is to be understood that both the foregoing generaldescription and the following detailed description are explanatory onlyand are not restrictive of aspects as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an exemplary computing operatingenvironment.

FIG. 2 illustrates a system where example embodiments may beimplemented.

FIG. 3 illustrates an example centralized UI comprising a supplementaryUI, explorer and inspector views of an application, an LOB application,and their interactions.

FIG. 4 illustrates example placements of a task pane in relation to anapplication UI according to embodiments.

FIG. 5 illustrates example placement and use of task panes with explorerand multiple inspector views of an application UI.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example task pane and its contents according toone embodiment.

FIG. 7 illustrates two example styles of subheadings for a task paneaccording to embodiments.

FIG. 8 illustrates a sampling of content regions for a task paneaccording to embodiments.

FIG. 9 illustrates a logic flow diagram for a process of using asupplementary UI (task pane) according to embodiments.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

As briefly described above, enabling information workers to view and acton business data from within familiar desktop applications, such aselectronic mail, spreadsheet, or word processing applications, isdesired for efficiency, accuracy, and other business goals. Asupplementary UI, such as a task pane, generated based on selections ina desktop application UI may provide summary information and contentcontrol over synchronization actions between the desktop application andan LOB application. In the following detailed description, referencesare made to the accompanying drawings that form a part hereof, and inwhich are shown by way of illustrations specific embodiments orexamples. These aspects may be combined, other aspects may be utilized,and structural changes may be made without departing from the spirit orscope of the present disclosure. The following detailed description istherefore not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope of thepresent invention is defined by the appended claims and theirequivalents.

Referring now to the drawings, aspects and an exemplary operatingenvironment will be described. FIG. 1 and the following discussion areintended to provide a brief, general description of a suitable computingenvironment in which the invention may be implemented. While theembodiments will be described in the general context of program modulesthat execute in conjunction with an application program that runs on anoperating system on a personal computer, those skilled in the art willrecognize that aspects may also be implemented in combination with otherprogram modules.

Generally, program modules include routines, programs, components, datastructures, and other types of structures that perform particular tasksor implement particular abstract data types. Moreover, those skilled inthe art will appreciate that embodiments may be practiced with othercomputer system configurations, including hand-held devices,multiprocessor systems, microprocessor-based or programmable consumerelectronics, minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like.Embodiments may also be practiced in distributed computing environmentswhere tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linkedthrough a communications network. In a distributed computingenvironment, program modules may be located in both local and remotememory storage devices.

Embodiments may be implemented as a computer process (method), acomputing system, or as an article of manufacture, such as a computerprogram product or computer readable media. The computer program productmay be a computer storage media readable by a computer system andencoding a computer program of instructions for executing a computerprocess. The computer program product may also be a propagated signal ona carrier readable by a computing system and encoding a computer programof instructions for executing a computer process.

With reference to FIG. 1, one exemplary system for implementing theembodiments includes a computing device, such as computing device 100.In a basic configuration, the computing device 100 typically includes atleast one processing unit 102 and system memory 104. Depending on theexact configuration and type of computing device, the system memory 104may be volatile (such as RAM), non-volatile (such as ROM, flash memory,etc.) or some combination of the two. System memory 104 typicallyincludes an operating system 105 suitable for controlling the operationof a networked personal computer, such as the WINDOWS® operating systemsfrom MICROSOFT CORPORATION of Redmond, Wash. The system memory 104 mayalso include one or more software applications such as program modules106 and desktop application 120. Program modules 106 and desktopapplication 120 may be executed within operating system 105 or inanother operating system. Furthermore, program modules 106 and desktopapplication 120 may be distributed programs that are executed incoordination with other computing devices.

According to embodiments, the desktop application 120 may comprise manytypes of programs. Examples of such programs include OUTLOOK®, WORD®,EXCEL®, and INTERNET EXPLORER® manufactured by MICROSOFT CORPORATION.Desktop application 120 may also comprise a multiple-functionalitysoftware application for providing many other types of functionalities.Such a multiple-functionality application may include a number ofprogram modules, such as a word processing program, a spreadsheetprogram, a database program, and the like. The term desktop applicationis intended to distinguish the application from the LOB application, andshould not be construed in any limiting sense. Desktop application 120may essentially be any application used by a business system participantto perform computing actions including, but not limited to, emailing,scheduling, data entry, and the like.

According to some embodiments, desktop application 120 may includesupplementary UI 122 that interacts with a business application such asa LOB application (not shown) and provides summary informationassociated with data that is synchronized or transferred between the twoapplications. Supplementary UI 122 may also provide control over theactions between the two applications. The supplementary UI may beintegrated into desktop application 120 or may be part of anotherapplication and interact with desktop application 120. The basicintegrated configuration is illustrated in FIG. 1 by those componentswithin dashed line 108.

An LOB application is one of a group of critical computer applicationsthat are vital to running an enterprise, such as accounting, supplychain management, and resource planning applications. LOB applicationsare usually large programs that contain a number of integratedcapabilities and tie into databases and database management systems.

The computing device 100 may have additional features or functionality.For example, the computing device 100 may also include additional datastorage devices (removable and/or non-removable) such as, for example,magnetic disks, optical disks, or tape. Such additional storage isillustrated in FIG. 1 by removable storage 109 and non-removable storage110. Computer storage media may include volatile and nonvolatile,removable and non-removable media implemented in any method ortechnology for storage of information, such as computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. Systemmemory 104, removable storage 109 and non-removable storage 110 are allexamples of computer storage media. Computer storage media includes, butis not limited to, RAM, ROM, EEPROM, flash memory or other memorytechnology, CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other opticalstorage, magnetic cassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage orother magnetic storage devices, or any other medium which can be used tostore the desired information and which can be accessed by computingdevice 100. Any such computer storage media may be part of device 100.Computing device 100 may also have input device(s) 112 such as keyboard,mouse, pen, voice input device, touch input device, etc. Outputdevice(s) 114 such as a display, speakers, printer, etc. may also beincluded. These devices are well known in the art and need not bediscussed at length here.

The computing device 100 may also contain communication connections 116that allow the device to communicate with other computing devices 118,such as over a network in a distributed computing environment, forexample, an intranet or the Internet. Communication connection 116 isone example of communication media. Communication media may typically beembodied by computer readable instructions, data structures, programmodules, or other data in a modulated data signal, such as a carrierwave or other transport mechanism, and includes any information deliverymedia. The term “modulated data signal” means a signal that has one ormore of its characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encodeinformation in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation,communication media includes wired media such as a wired network ordirect-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF,infrared and other wireless media. The term computer readable media asused herein includes both storage media and communication media.

Referring to FIG. 2, a system where example embodiments may beimplemented, is illustrated. System 200 includes application server 202,LOB application server 204, and clients 222, 224, 226. The term “client”may refer to a client application or a client device employed by a userto interact with one or both of a desktop application and an LOBapplication. Application server 202 may also be one or more programs ora server machine executing programs associated with the applicationserver tasks. As described above, an such as a desktop application maybe executed in any one of the clients or in application server 202 andshared in a distributed manner by clients 222, 224, and 226.

LOB application server 204 may execute an LOB application and interactwith application server 202 and/or clients 222, 224, and 226 for sharingdata, synchronizing data and processes, and the like.

Server 202, LOB application server 204, and clients 222, 224, 226 maycommunicate over one or more networks. The network(s) 210 may include asecure network such as an enterprise network, or an unsecure networksuch as a wireless open network. By way of example, and not limitation,the network(s) may include wired media such as a wired network ordirect-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, RF,infrared and other wireless media.

In a typical implementation, a user may interact with a desktopapplication such as an electronic mail application that includes acalendar utility, and enter time for appointments or tasks. Informationassociated with the calendar entries may be provided to an LOBapplication running on the LOB application server 204. A supplementaryUI executed as an add-in part of the electronic mail application mayprovide summary information associated with the shared (synchronized)data to the user. The supplementary UI may also provide controls thatenable the user to add, modify, or remove some or all of the data beingtransferred between the two applications. In some embodiments, thesupplementary UI may be run as a distinct application and interact withthe desktop application.

Now referring to FIG. 3, an example supplementary UI and itsinteractions with explorer and inspector views of an application and anLOB application are shown. Diagram 300 includes desktop application UI310, an inspector view 319 of a portion of the electronic mailapplication UI 310, task pane 320, and LOB application 330. Anelectronic mail application is an example of a desktop application, inwhich embodiments may be implemented. Task pane 320 is an example of asupplementary UI as described previously.

According to embodiments, a centralized UI for displaying contextuallydriven business content and business related functionality may beprovided as a supplementary UI accompanying the UI of an application,such as desktop application UI 310. The desktop application may includea scheduling application, a calendar application, a word processingapplication, a spreadsheet application, a database application, or abrowser application in addition to an electronic mail application.

Desktop application UI 310 may include a number of regions such ascommand bar region 314, overview pane 312, selected option pane 316, anddetailed view pane 318 (explorer view). The different panes may includeelements of the desktop application that are associated with a secondapplication through data binding. The second application may be abusiness application (e.g. LOB application 330).

For example, the desktop application may be an electronic mailapplication with scheduling capability. Overview pane 312 may presentdifferent options of the electronic mail application such as composingor reviewing mail, calendar, contact information, and the like. Selectedoption pane 316 may present contents of the option chosen from overviewpane 312, such as calendar items. Detailed view pane 318 may presentdetails of the item highlighted in the selected option pane 316, such asan appointment on a particular date.

In the above example, the appointment may be designated as an item to bereported to a business application for time keeping purposes. In thatcase, information associated with time, duration, and other relevantaspects of the appointment may be provided to LOB application 330.

Task pane 320 is configured to provide summary information, contentcontrol, and additional capabilities associated with the exchange (orsynchronization) of data between the selected element(s) of desktopapplication UI 310 and LOB application 330.

LOB application 330 may be any business related application and mayinclude one or more modules such as project 332. Project 332 may in turninclude one or more modules such as workflows, tasks, subprojects, andthe like. Module 334 represents an example subgroup within project 332that keeps track of time entries from desktop application 310 in theabove example.

Getting back to task pane 320, the task pane or supplementary UI may begenerated based on selection of an element of desktop application UI310, such as the calendar entry. Task pane 320 may include a number ofregions that present object identification, dynamic messages, contentcontrol, description of direct actions, links to related reports, linksto related actions, or contextual data. An order, a layout, an emphasis,or a selection of graphics, associated with the regions may bedetermined based on the selected element. Contents of the task pane arediscussed in conjunction with FIGS. 6, 7, and 8 later in this text.

Task pane 320 may also be generated by selection of an element ininspector view 319 of the desktop application UI. Inspector view 319 ispresentation of details of a chosen item from selected option pane 316in a separate window. For example, emails may be viewed in an integral“Preview Pane” or in a separate window in OUTLOOK®. Thus, task pane 320may be activated by a number of elements in desktop application UI 310or associated inspector view(s) 319.

Task pane 320 may be dynamically positioned and its behavior controlledbased on a position and size of desktop application UI 310, as well asselection of the element in the desktop application UI. Dynamicpositioning of the supplementary UI (task pane 320) is discussed indetail below in conjunction with FIG. 4 and FIG. 5.

Task pane 320 may be activated automatically when an element is selectedfor the first time to provide the user an indication that the task paneis available as a tool for the user. If the user navigates away from theselected element or deselects that element, the task pane may beautomatically deactivated. According to one embodiment, the task panemay not be reactivated when the element is selected for a second time,since the user is presumed to be aware of the task pane functionality atthis point. The desktop application may include an option icon orsimilar items for the user to activate the task pane at will. On theother hand, a default setting may activate the task pane every time anelement is selected.

When one or more inspector view windows are opened, the task pane mayfollow the active window, i.e. reflect information associated with theactive inspector view window. The task pane is also positioned about theactive inspector view window. As the open inspector view windows areclosed, the task pane(s) associated with those may also be deactivatedleaving open only the task pane associated with the currently activedesktop application window.

Task pane 320 may be managed by an add-in module of the desktopapplication, or by a distinct application that interacts with thedesktop application. Furthermore, task pane 320 may be presented as aseparate UI from desktop application UI 310, or it may be an integratedpart of desktop application UI 310. The above examples for desktopapplication and task pane are for illustration purposes only, andembodiments may be implemented with any application following theprinciples described herein.

FIG. 4 illustrates diagram 400 of example placements of a task pane inrelation to an application UI according to embodiments. As explainedpreviously, the task pane may be dynamically positioned about thedesktop application UI and sized based on a size and position of thedesktop application UI.

Example placements 402, 404, 406, and 408 show the task pane being sizedto match a size (e.g. length or height) of the desktop application UIand placed adjacent to the desktop application UI (e.g. right, left,below, and above, respectively). Example placements 410 and 412 show thetask pane being placed in hovering mode, where the task pane is placedover the desktop application UI in a shifted position. This mode may beemployed when the desktop application UI covers a significant portion ofthe screen or when multiple application UI's are open at the same time.

According to some embodiments, the size and the placement of thesupplementary UI (task pane) may be dynamically modified based onactions associated with the desktop application UI. For example, achange in size or placement of the desktop application UI may result inmodification of the task pane size and position. Selection of adifferent element in the desktop application UI, which may result indifferent contents being displayed in the task pane, may also lead todynamic repositioning and resizing of the task pane. Furthermore,placement modes (e.g. adjacent, hovering) may also be interchanged basedon changes to the desktop application UI. The placements described inthis portion are for illustration purposes only. The supplementary UImay be placed in any position and sized in any way suitable with thedesktop application.

FIG. 5 illustrates diagram 500 of example placement and use of taskpanes with explorer and multiple inspector views of an application UI.As explained previously, a desktop application may include a UI with anexplorer view window (502) and multiple inspector view windows (e.g.504, 506, 508). Due to the rules of the operating system, only one ofthe open windows is “active” at any given time, however. In a typicalimplementation, the task pane is first activated by the explorer viewwindow of the desktop application UI. As inspector view windows areopened, each may activate its own corresponding task pane while the taskpanes associated with “inactive” UI windows are deactivated.

In one embodiment, the activation and deactivation of the task panes maytake the form of the task pane simply following the currently activedesktop application UI window, and all others disappearing from thescreen. In another embodiment (as shown in the figure), task panesassociated with inactive application windows may be presented in aninactive mode with only the active task pane performing actionsdescribed previously. If the active application UI window is closed, thecorresponding task pane may also be closed and one of the inactive onescorresponding to the new active window activated.

FIG. 6 illustrates an example task pane 600 and its contents accordingto one embodiment. Example task pane 600 is employed to provide summaryinformation and content controls for exchange of data between ascheduling application and an LOB application keeping track of time.

Task pane 600 has at the top level title 602. Title 602 may be used todefine the task pane and be universal. Title 602 is followed bysubheading 604. Subheading 604 may be used to provide an applicationspecific summary definition of the task pane. In example task pane 600,the subheading 604 is Time Recording indicating that the task pane isassociated with time keeping activities. In one embodiment, subheading604 may include control icons such as dropdown menu controls. Examplesof different configurations for subheading 604 are provided in FIG. 7.

Subheading 604 is followed by an object identification region 606.Object identification region 606 provides summary information about theitem from the scheduling application, which is being synchronized withthe LOB application. In the example, the timekeeper item is defined as“Discuss New Project” (retrieved from scheduling application entry), andits duration is shown as 1 hour. Object identification region 606 isfollowed by content control region 608. Content control region 608provides options to the user to modify attributes and aspects of thedata being synchronized. In the example, content control region 608 istitled “Recording Details”, and provides options to modify a projectcode, an activity definition, and a brief description for the activity.The example task pane provides these options as fixed options indropdown menu style. In other embodiments, the user may be provided theoption of entering his/her own information for the attributes oraspects.

Content control region 608 is followed by contextual data region 610.Contextual data region 610, titled “Recording Balance” in the example,provides summary information associated with the project such as totalrecorded time and the period of recording. This information is typicallyretrieved from the LOB application. Contextual data region 610 isfollowed by related actions region 612. Related actions region 612,titled “You Can Also” provides links to activities for the userassociated with the time keeping operation.

Task pane 600 and its contents are provided for illustration purposesonly. A supplementary UI to provide contextual business content andbusiness related functionality is not limited to the example task pane,and may be implemented in other ways using the principles describedherein. Specifically, type, layout, and order of regions within thesupplementary UI may be selected in many different way such as thosedescribed in conjunction with FIG. 8.

FIG. 7 illustrates two example styles for a subheading of a task paneaccording to embodiments. Subheading 702 is the application specificsubheading of the example task pane of FIG. 6 without control icons.

Subheading 704, titled “Time Reporting”, includes a dropdown menu icon706 and available menu items 708 associated with the icon. The dropdownmenu icon 706 provides another method of offering the user choices, suchas selecting additional panes. In some embodiments, options may beprovided to the user as tabs along one edge of the UI. The user may thenselect one of the available panes by clicking on the related tab.

The example implementation of dropdown menu icons and tabs to provideselections to the user is intended for illustration purposes only andshould not be construed as a limitation on embodiments. Otherembodiments using different methods for providing a supplementary UI topresent summary information and content controls may be implementedusing the principles described herein.

FIG. 8 illustrates a sampling of content portions for a task pane 800according to embodiments. Task pane 800 includes title region 802 asdescribed in FIG. 6. Title region 802 may include control icons such asan open/close icon 832 as well. Title region 802 is followed bysubheading 804, which is typically application specific and may includethe application name. Because task pane 800 may be used with multipleapplications, subheading 804 may include a dropdown menu icon 834 toselect from the available applications.

Branding graphics region 806 may be used to provide graphics associatedwith the desktop or LOB applications tied together by the task pane.Branding graphics 806 is followed by an object identification region808. Object identification region 808 may be used to identify theelement of the desktop application, its counterpart module in the LOBapplication, as well as to provide status information. Multiple objectidentification regions may be collapsed or expanded using a dropdownmenu icon.

Dynamic message region 810 is used to provide summary information suchas status of the activity. For example, in a workflow application,status of different workflow tasks may be reflected in dynamic messageregion 810. Content controls region 812 includes options for the user tomodify attributes, aspects of data being synchronized or exchangedbetween the two applications. Actions region 814 may provide links toactions associated with the LOB application. For example, in a timekeeping application, the actions region 814 may include a link thatenables the user to open a new timekeeper item or a new project. Thelinks in actions region 814 may be in form of hyperlinks, buttons, andthe like.

Another region in task pane 800 is contextual data region 816.Contextual data region 816 may provide information retrieved from theLOB application such as total recorded time balance in a time keepingapplication. Contextual data region 816 is followed by object linkregion 818. Object link region 818 includes links to additional objects(e.g. “Recent Requests”) associated with the LOB application and thedesktop application.

A further region in task pane 800 is related reports region 820. Relatedreports region 810 may provide links to related reports in form of texthyperlinks, buttons, tree style, and the like. Related actions region822 is similar to the related reports region 820, and provides links toactions within the desktop or LOB applications associated with thecurrent task pane.

Task pane 800 may include many more or fewer regions in any order. Theregions may be designed to appear only when they include an item withinthemselves or may be listed in a dropdown menu. The regions may alsoinclude additional elements such as graphics, control icons, and thelike.

FIG. 9 illustrates a logic flow diagram for process 900 of using asupplementary UI according to embodiments. Process 900 may beimplemented in an application server or client as described in FIG. 2.

Process 900 begins with operation 902, where a selection on theapplication UI is received. As described previously, the selection maybe activation of a link associated with a calendar entry, a task entry,and the like. In a typical implementation, the selected item isassociated with a corresponding item in an LOB application. Processingadvances from operation 902 to operation 904.

At operation 904, information associated with the selected item isretrieved from the LOB application. In the scheduling example, suchinformation may include data associated with a project task, and thelike. Processing moves from operation 904 to operation 906.

At operation 906, the supplementary UI (in the example, the task pane)is generated. The contents of the task pane such as message, object, andcontrol regions may be created and ordered based on the informationretrieved from the LOB application and the application UI. Regionswithin the supplementary UI include information received from theapplication UI and retrieved from the LOB application. Processingadvances from operation 906 to operation 908.

At operation 908, the task pane is dynamically positioned based on aposition and size of the application UI. Specific examples of task panepositioning are discussed in conjunction with FIGS. 4 and 5. The taskpane may, however, be positioned in any predefined way in relation tothe application UI. Operation 908 is followed by operation 910.

At operation 910, the data is synchronized. Some data may besynchronized automatically between the application and the LOBapplication. Other portions of the data may be synchronized uponapproval by the user. In other embodiments, the user may be provided theoption of binding additional data to be synchronized. Processingadvances from operation 910 to optional 912.

At optional operation 912, additional actions associated withtransferring data between the application and the LOB application may beperformed. Such actions may include modifying data to be synchronized,setting or modifying of properties and attributes of information to beexchanged between the applications, and the like. After optionaloperation 912, processing moves to a calling process for furtheractions.

The operations included in process 900 are for illustration purposes.Providing a centralized UI for displaying contextually driven businesscontent and business related functionality may be implemented by similarprocesses with fewer or additional steps, as well as in different orderof operations using the principles described herein.

The above specification, examples and data provide a completedescription of the manufacture and use of the composition of theembodiments. Although the subject matter has been described in languagespecific to structural features and/or methodological acts, it is to beunderstood that the subject matter defined in the appended claims is notnecessarily limited to the specific features or acts described above.Rather, the specific features and acts described above are disclosed asexample forms of implementing the claims and embodiments.

1. A computer-implemented method to be executed at least in part in acomputing device for displaying contextually driven business content,comprising: determining a first element of a first application UserInterface (UI) that is associated with a second application through databinding; generating a supplementary UI, wherein the supplementary UIincludes at least one region configured to provide summary informationassociated with data bound between the first element of the firstapplication UI and the second application; and positioning thesupplementary UI dynamically based on a position and size of the firstapplication UI, wherein a behavior of the supplementary UI is controlledbased on actions associated with the first application UI.
 2. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein determining the firstelement of the first application UI includes detecting a selectionassociated with the first element.
 3. The computer-implemented method ofclaim 2, wherein generating the supplementary UI includes activating thesupplementary UI automatically when the first element is selected forthe first time.
 4. The computer-implemented method of claim 3, furthercomprising: deactivating the supplementary UI when the first element isdeselected for the first time; and reactivating the supplementary UIresponsive to a user action during subsequent selections of the firstelement.
 5. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, furthercomprising: providing at least one other region in the supplementary UIfor content control, wherein the content control enables a user tospecify a second element of the first application UI to be associatedwith the second application.
 6. The computer-implemented method of claim1, further comprising: providing at least one other region in the UI forcontent control, wherein the content control enables a user to modifydata to be synchronized between the first application and the secondapplication.
 7. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, furthercomprising providing at least one other region in the UI for dynamicmessages.
 8. The computer-implemented method of claim 1, furthercomprising: providing at least one other region in the UI for linkingrelated reports and related actions.
 9. The computer-implemented methodof claim 1, wherein the first application includes at least one from aset of: an electronic mail application, a scheduling application, acalendar application, a word processing application, a spreadsheetapplication, a database application, and a browser application.
 10. Thecomputer-implemented method of claim 1, wherein the second applicationis a Line Of Business (LOB) application.
 11. A system for providingsummary information and control over data exchanged between a desktopapplication and an LOB application, comprising: a desktop application UIcapable of providing a plurality of views each view including aplurality of elements, wherein a portion of the elements are associatedwith the LOB application; and a task pane configured to provide contentcontrol and summary information associated with data to be exchangedbetween the desktop application and the LOB application based on aselected first element of the desktop application UI, wherein the taskpane is generated and positioned about the desktop application UI inresponse to the first element being selected.
 12. The system of claim11, wherein the task pane is managed by an add-in module of the desktopapplication.
 13. The system of claim 11, wherein the task pane isdynamically positioned and sized adjacent to the desktop application UIbased on a size and position of the desktop application UI.
 14. Thesystem of claim 11, wherein the task pane is dynamically positioned andsized hovering over to the desktop application UI based on a size andposition of the desktop application UI.
 15. The system of claim 11,wherein the desktop application UI includes an explorer view and atleast one inspector view.
 16. The system of claim 16, wherein the taskpane is associated with and dynamically positioned about one of anactive one of the explorer view and the at least one inspector view ofthe desktop application UI.
 17. The system of claim 11, wherein anorder, a layout, an emphasis, and a selection of graphics associatedwith regions of the task pane that present at least one from a set of:object identification, dynamic messages, content control, description ofdirect actions, links to related reports, links to related actions, andcontextual data, are determined based on the selected first element. 18.A computer-readable medium having computer executable instructions forproviding a supplementary UI to present summary information and contentcontrol associated with data being exchanged between a desktopapplication and an LOB application, the instructions comprising:receiving a selection associated with a first element of a desktopapplication UI, wherein the first element is associated with the LOBapplication through data binding; generating regions of thesupplementary UI to present at least one from a set of: objectidentification, dynamic messages, content control, description of directactions, links to related reports, links to related actions, andcontextual data, based on the first element; and positioning thesupplementary UI dynamically about the desktop application UI based on aposition and size of the desktop application UI, wherein a behavior ofthe supplementary UI is controlled based on actions associated with thedesktop application UI.
 19. The computer-readable medium of claim 18,wherein the instructions further include: activating the supplementaryUI automatically when the first element is selected for the first time;deactivating the supplementary UI when the first element is deselectedfor the first time; reactivating the supplementary UI responsive to auser action during subsequent selections of the first element; andassociating the supplementary UI with an active inspector view of thedesktop application UI when multiple inspector views are opened.
 20. Thecomputer-readable medium of claim 18, wherein an action included withinthe supplementary UI are determined based on an attribute of the firstelement.